Because you loved me
by angelina giovanni
Summary: The reason behind why Lara Croft remains single.
1. Default Chapter

I don't own Lara Croft or Werner Von Croy no matter how much I would like to take credit for them! I'm new to the fan fiction scene and would really appreciate any feedback that I get. This story isn't complete yet but I need to know where I am going wrong so pointers are very welcome! Thank you for taking the time to read this. *kisses  
  
Because you loved me.  
  
'You were my strength when I was weak You were my voice when I couldn't speak You were my eyes when I couldn't see You saw the best there was in me Lifted me up when I couldn't reach Gave me faith cos you believed I'm everything I am because you loved me.'  
  
The card sat in Lara Crofts hands as tears stung her dark deep eyes. She knew exactly whose writing was on the card and it hurt at the fact she couldn't be with him, it was the anniversary of the day that the two had first met and it was to be the first they had spent apart. Their relationship had been surrounded by privacy for so long to stop both interference and gossip that recently it was becoming hard to think up reasons for them to give to see each other.  
  
Lara gently wiped away a tear that had slowly made its path down her olive tanned cheek and made her way to the window, the card still firmly in her hand. She overlooked the London streets from the height of her office in the very top of the new British Museum and tried to think of something else but the pain in her chest wouldn't let her mind escape the fact she was alone today. Everything she knew was connected to him, he was the reason she was standing in that office, the reason she was able to adventure and make her name in the world, the reason she hadn't gone through with her suicide attempt 13 years ago, the reason she had for living this very day.  
  
Gently the clouds broke apart in the sky and a fierce beam of sunlight came through the window landing gently on Lara's face as though it was trying to make her forget how lonely she was and show that she still had her health. Lara smiled a secret smile to herself as she thought of that fateful day all those years ago, the sun shining harder in pleasure of seeing her happier, as it had done when she put the knife down in his hands. Any longer and the sixteen year old Lara of then would have easily plunged the piece of cold hard steel directly into her chest until it pierced her heart. She was unable to think rationally after a recent traumatic attack from a well known and trusted friend had left her soul crushed. He had made her believe she could trust him, lured her into false emotion and then had raped her; unable to handle this Lara lashed out at herself for letting him in and decided to cover up what had happened by ending her miserable life. It wasn't like anyone would miss her was it? Her parents didn't really care about her, her so called friends as she had learnt could at any moment turn around and hurt her. The decision was made and Lara went to the kitchen and unsheathed a large sharp knife used for cutting meats and sat on the hard, stone floor begging for the courage to able to do it. A knock came at the door startling Lara and she jumped catching her left arm with the knife, the pain seared through her and a scream escaped her dry but full lips alerting whoever knocked at the door there was a problem. A minute later the kitchen door flew open and a tall, muscular and handsome man came through, Lara backed against the table and held her hand against her wound. He knelt before her and looked at her with clear kind and sparkling blue eyes, almost instantly Lara was mesmerised and forgot what she was doing. 'You should be more careful miss.' He said to her in a calm and controlled deep voice. Lara was snapped out of her trance and held the knife tightly. 'I wasn't trying to be careful sir, now please leave my home before I call security.' She gave him a cold stare and he instantly saw she had the same spirit that he possessed, she was clearly the girl that he had been called about. 'Forgive me miss. I meant you no disrespect but I do believe that you should put that knife down before you do seriously hurt yourself.' He gave her a calm look showing he posed no threat to her. 'I want to hurt myself. Don't you understand that there is no point in me living anymore? Now please leave me.' Lara began to get herself worked up; after all she decided that she may as well tell him what was going on as she was going to die soon anyway. He stayed perfectly still in front of her still kneeling. 'I'm afraid miss that I don't understand why you would want to give up your life. You are only sixteen years old and you have so much to live for. What had happened for you to feel you have no way out?' Lara began to cry. 'I cannot tell you, will you please leave me?' She began to get up and he took her into his arms, she beat against him until it became clear to her that he was only trying to help and he wasn't going to hurt her. She succumbed to him and let him hold her body against his hard chest, the knife still in hand. 'Tell me miss. What has happened?' he asked gently stroking her dull brown hair. 'I ... I trusted him and he did this to me.' She said gently as she sniffed. 'He did what?' 'I wasn't ready, I told him that and he went ahead and did it anyway, he held me down and said he would hurt me if I told anyone.' Recognition slowly dawned to him and he held her tighter. 'He raped you? Is that what happened?' He probed gently, feeling Lara tense up at the word. 'Yes.' She said quietly then she looked up at him. 'How did you know I was sixteen?' She asked as she remembered what he had said earlier. 'Because I believe that you are the young lady that Hillary Jeeves called me about.' He held his hand out to her. 'I'm Werner Von Croy.' 'Lara Croft.' She said accepting his hand with a smile. Von Croy was a leading adventurer and someone that Lara had admired since she was 10. She had been so worked up before that she didn't recognise him. 'I came here because I was told that you had an interest in adventure and I thought that I would offer you the chance to come with me on one of my expeditions, although I won't be able to take you if you don't put that knife down, a corpse isn't what I was expecting to take with me.' Lara smiled at him gently and handed him the knife into his outstretched hand, upon the contact the two had the sun shone through the window upon them both. Surely a sign.  
  
Wiping his brow with the back of his hand Werner Von Croy sat down to take a breather, he had been working on this site for over a month now and seemed to be going nowhere fast. His thoughts drifted to Lara, he wondered whether she had received his card and roses or not but more than that wondered if she was alright. She had seemed very upset on the phone at the fact he wasn't going to be with her today and the thought scared him. He knew better than anyone what she was capable of. After all they had met when Lara was determined to end her life and he knew just how fragile she was underneath her hard exterior. True she had changed much since they had met that day; gone was the averaged height, acne spotted dull girl. She had been replaced with a tall, flawless, slim aura surrounded woman. She had accompanied Werner on his expedition and the natural water had put a shine in her hair that had grown to her waist, the constant exercise sculpting her body into a fantastic shape instead of the once slightly podgy frame she had possessed. She had also had a growth spurt and now stood only 4 inches smaller than Werner. Being in the humid air had cleared up her acne and she looked amazing. She had also become stronger both physically and mentally, although she remained insecure. She had a brain to beat all but also was lacking the one thing that Werner had been trying hard to fill for her since they met. She had never experienced love. Either from her parents, family, friends or partners. He leant back against the large rock he was resting on and sighed, he hated having to keep his love for her a secret but both of them knew it had to be done. The scandal would be huge if the story ever broke and it would most certainly mean Lara would take a lot of the flack from it. The press wouldn't leave her alone, her parents would fight with her even more so than now, it was hard but they had managed for the past 13 years hadn't they?  
  
Lara walked over to where the blood red roses sat on her desk and smiled as she took a single rose out of the bouquet and held it to her chest lightly. The memory of having Werner taking her on her first adventure flashing in her mind, the way he taught her like a teacher during the working hours of the day, then at nights the way he would sit and listen for hours about the way she felt. She could tell him anything and he would be honest with her and he felt the same about her. One of these particular nights was when they had recovered the artefact they had been looking for and Werner took her into the town to celebrate. Checking them into the local hotel Werner changed into a pair of black trousers and added a white vest top underneath his khaki adventure shirt. As Lara descended the staircase that led into the reception area Werner found himself having to catch his breath at the sight before him, Lara had changed into a long white linen skirt with a spaghetti strap white top that stopped at her naval, leaving a hand span of perfectly tanned skin at her midriff. Her long hair was down and the breeze that blew in through the open doors caught it softly, she looked amazing. She stood in front of Werner who handed her a single red rose and leant over to brush her cheek with a soft kiss, Lara wasn't at all surprised by this action and turned her cheek towards him to accept the kiss, Werner however was surprised. After what she had previously been through he couldn't believe that she had put so much trust in him. They went for a candlelit meal at a small restaurant where they were sure no-one would recognise either of them and ate in peace, both of them just basking in comfortable familiarity of each others presence. The evening drew to a close and the bar was shut, taking his offered arm Lara and Werner went for a quiet walk before returning to the hotel, the air was warm and the smell of spices was suspended in the air. The moon gave out its relentless silvery glow that illuminated the slightly intoxicated couple as they reached their destination. The top floor where they were staying in separate rooms was pitch black and was causing problems for Lara who couldn't find the keyhole for her room. Werner smiled at her through the dark and reached for her hand to help; taking the key from her he unlocked the door and made a move to walk in, only to be stopped by Lara's frame in the way. Slowly she moved her hands so her slender fingers cupped his face caressing him, walking a pace closer to him so their bodies touched she let her full lips touch his.  
  
Werner lay back against the rock, letting the stone cool his back as he imagined that same night Lara was. He could almost feel her moist lips against his, how he longed for that touch right now, he wanted to hold her the way he did that night her slim and powerful body resting beside his. He let his mind drift into memory of that night. In the doorway he had kissed her back with just as much passion as she was showing him. He knew she was only sixteen, but she had the body and mind of someone so much more mature, he broke away from her and walked into her room with her. Shutting the door behind him he pulled Lara into his arms and began kissing her again feeling her respond to him, she began to unbutton his shirt and he pulled away, looking her in the eye. 'Lara, we shouldn't do this sweetheart.' He breathed softly but enough for her to understand. She looked back at him, obviously hurt. 'You don't want me do you Werner?' He pulled her close to him but she stood rigid in his arms, she felt rejected and he realised he had caused it. 'Lara, you have no idea how much I want this. How much I want you, but I can't do this till I know you are completely ready. I don't want you to regret being with me.' 'I want this, and I am ready, I trust you.' She informed him. 'My darling, after everything you have been through I don't want you to rush.' He was cut short by Lara's finger on his lips. 'Werner, please, I want you, I need you. Prove to me that you want me too.' Werner needed no more convincing as Lara pressed her body to his and kissed him passionately. He led her to the bed and undressed her slowly savouring every minute he had with her, taking in every detail of every inch of her body in case this was to be a one off time he wanted to remember everything about her. He looked deep into her eyes as he began to make love to her tenderly, seeing the passion and warmth she held for him behind them. They peaked at the same time, Werner held her close as Lara breathed heavily beneath him, he looked down at her brushing a lock of dark hair away from her face he noticed she had tears in her eyes. He was instantly concerned about her. 'Sweetheart, what's wrong? Did I hurt you?' he asked her wiping a tear from her silken cheek. Lara smiled up at him. 'You didn't hurt me, it's just I've never felt this safe before.' She admitted. He understood and didn't want to push the subject further so he kissed her forehead then lay on his back, Lara leant her head against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. When he felt her breathing become rhythmic and he knew she was asleep he whispered to her words he had never said to any woman before. 'I love you.' 


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the review babe, it meant a lot to me and I hope I managed to answer some of your points. ( Also like I said before I don't own either Lara or Werner so don't sue me ok? On with the show.  
  
Relaxing into the soft leather office chair she sat in Lara let her mind wander as it often did. Life was a hard lesson to learn and she had had her fair share of heartache, after all the one good thing in her life she was unable to show. Being born into the aristocracy Lara had been in the public eye for years, being an upper class British lady also meant that the career she had chosen had not made it easy for her to hide away from the paparazzi. As of recent her relationship with Werner had been harder and harder to hide from them, their appearances together could be easily explained but it only took one wrong move from either of them and their cover would be blown. Walking over to the closet in her office Lara pulled out a floor length cream satin dress, the front of it was a lace panel that ran between her breasts that was able to show off her tanned skin, and on the right hand side a long slit in the dress was present to show her long, shapely leg. The dress had been a gift from Werner specifically for the upcoming occasion of the opening of the Boston museum. Her mind drifted to that opening that had happened 10 years previously, as she held the dress to her, being one of their top rated archaeologists Werner was to be a guest of honour and who better to accompany him than the person he taught to be the one to be the next generation of adventurers. She remembered how he had taken her hand as she stepped out of the limousine into the barrage of photographic flashes and questions that assaulted her. Immediately two heavily armed bodyguards dressed in black took to either side of the two of them and escorted them into the building where no press were allowed until the question and answer stage of the evening. Werner had taught her how to answer questions that were asked of her and kept close to her throughout the evening, and as her upbringing suggested she was the perfect lady, never once setting a foot out of line. The rumours started almost at once when the two entered the main hall where the press were waiting to receive the speeches, all of them noticing the fact Werner had his hand on Lara's lower back, once they were seated the questions directed were more of the underlying secret the two had than the actual opening.  
  
Werner walked back to his caravan in the dustbowl his team laughingly called a dig site, and entered the cool air conditioned atmosphere. Breathing deeply he filled the sink full of water and grimaced as he washed his face, the water was warm, same as nearly everything else around here. If Lara were here she would have had her technician Bryce make something to keep the water cool, right after she had complained to Werner for not taking her on a proper adventure, after all a dig site wasn't exactly Cambodia was it? Looking up he spotted the picture that hung above the mirror in his trailer, it was of the opening night that Lara was thinking about. He remembered how beautiful she looked that night, how mature and intelligent she acted and forgot the 10 year age difference between the two of them. He looked in the mirror at himself, he was 39 that year, not a great age but at the same time he knew he was slowing down. He could no longer do the things he had done in his youth, he couldn't push himself to the limits he once had. He had to admit that he was getting old, and also had to admit that he would have to have a long talk with Lara. She was so young and vibrant and he was getting to the point in his life where he wanted to settle down. He had met her when he was 26 and had been faithful to her ever since, before her he had only been with 2 other women and although he loved her unconditionally and would never think about betraying her he did think that perhaps he should have had some time to have lived a bit more before her. He shook the thought from his mind, Lara had given up everything for him and he knew that, he also knew that if the time were to come and their secret were to be uncovered she would be the first to protect him, to tell the paparazzi that a lot of the relationship was down to her. She had already taken a lot of grief from nosey people who couldn't help themselves from commenting about the two. He remembered how she had ran into his arms and cried when he had taken her from a police station after she was arrested for assaulting one of her school classmates who had called Werner a paedophile for wanting to take her with him adventuring. Assaulting Joni Donaldson had pushed Lara further into the spotlight than she had thought and increasing pressure had been put on Werner to protect her from it. He held his head in his hands and wished like anything that he could tell the world that he loved her and stop the lies. Little did he know that very soon a scandal was going to erupt and was their relationship strong enough to hold on? 


End file.
